NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 15 – Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has asked Kenyans not to hesitate to report people who use unscrupulous ways to sneak back to their villages from counties that are under lockdown.
They include Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera which remain under lockdown since April to July 6, when President Uhuru Kenyatta will issue new guidelines.
But despite the cessation of movement into and out the three counties, some people have been sneaking out to their villages upcountry or to other areas, in contravention of the containment measures.
Kagwe now wants people, especially those in rural Kenya to report such individuals through the Nyumba Kumi administrative structures for action to be taken, in measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“Utilize this governance structure to ensure that there are no strangers coming to your villages and homes because this is the main way the virus is transmitted,” he said on Monday during the daily COVID-19 briefing from Nyandarua.
Kagwe said infections in the country had risen to 3,727 after 133 new infections were recorded.
Fatalies also rose to 104, after one more patient succumbed to the virus.
Kenya is implementing tough restrictions since March when the first case was confirmed in the country, with a night curfew now starting from 9pm to 4am.
Other measures include the closure of bars, with restaurants now allowed to operate between 4 am and 5pm.
Kagwe said the virus thrives when people move and maintained that the containment measures issued by the government should be adhered to strictly to flatten the curve.
“The virus does not move on its own, it is moved by people. If you see any stranger in your locality report them so that the spread of the virus is suppressed,” he said.
9 counties out of the 47 are yet to record cases of coronavirus.
